Mercury Striking (The Scorpius Syndrome #1)(41)

She grabbed the knives and quickly searched the bodies, coming up empty.

Wyatt blew out air. “That’s beyond rookie police training.” He glanced around. “Where’s Shawn?”

“Didn’t make it,” Jax said shortly.

Wyatt hitched to a stop. “Then we take him back and bury him.”

“He’s not dead.” Jax met his friend’s gaze levelly. “We have to get moving. Now.”

Wyatt took a deep breath. “Fuck, man, what happened?”

Raze moved to his side, gaze not revealing anything, although he now kept an eye on Sami.

Jax sucked in air and fought every instinct he had to go back and throw the kid over his shoulder. “Insurgents. They’re willing to kill anybody who’s been infected, including Tace.” He kept his face stoic. “We can’t be watching our backs at all times.”

“Then he stays,” Raze said flatly, no emotion on his sharp face.

Wyatt swallowed, his eyes hollowing. He shuddered. “All right. Let’s get back.”

Sami shook her head. “You agree with him that we leave Shawn here? I thought for sure you’d try to talk some sense into Jax.”

Wyatt patted her hand, his huge mitt covering her past the wrist. “If Jax says he stays, then it’s best for the group if he stays. We don’t have the time, energy, or manpower for a prison.” He slid an arm around Sami’s shoulders and tugged her closer. “We don’t live in a world of rehabilitation right now, sweetheart. It’s all survival.”

She blinked back tears. “I don’t like this world.”

This world fucking sucked. How the woman could go from knocking out two guys twice her size to being upset about Shawn bewildered Jax. He tightened his jaw. “It’s all we have right now. We’ll head out the back door. The front faces the east, and as soon as the sun comes up it’ll be too exposed.”

Wyatt lowered his voice. “Do you think Lynne and April could’ve protected Tace and the girl?”

“I don’t know,” Jax muttered. Lynne was smart as hell, and she’d said she knew how to shoot, but knowledge and action were two different things. The woman probably hadn’t deliberately killed before. “April is protecting her kid, so my money is on her. Let’s move. Now.” His stomach rolled, and he had to fight to remain calm. He led the way into the pouring rain, making sure the team crouched low and stayed behind cars, bricks, and crumbling buildings. At one point, he allowed everyone to catch their breath before they made a run for the truck.

Sami crouched next to him, gazing above a half wall. “Were you like this before Scorpius, Jax?” Sadness and more than a little fear filled her voice.

“Like what?” he whispered.

“A killer without remorse. A survivor at all costs. So . . . cold.”

Coming from somebody who could fight so easily, the words cut deep. “Yes. I’ve always been like this.” His blood hummed, and his gut roiled. Had Lynne survived?





Chapter Fourteen





The outside forces of danger are nothing compared to the deadly forces lurking deep within each man.

—Dr. Franklin Xavier Harmony




A couple of hours after she’d regained consciousness, Lynne’s head still pounded. Was death coming for her finally? For so long, she’d been ready to rest, and suddenly, she wasn’t sure. Living held merit again.

She sat on the floor of the examination room, her back to the wall, her gun ready. The paint was peeling, and every time she moved her shoulders, flecks dotted her shirt. Tace slept uneasily to her right, his breathing labored, while Haylee slept silently, nearly too silently, to her left. April sat next to her daughter, resting her head on the bed.

The smell of illness and blood permeated the room.

God, what if somebody else came to kill them? She had a limited supply of bullets. Her heart thundered against her rib cage, and her breath panted out.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” April asked in a high-pitched tone, her voice muffled by the blanket.

“Yes. I passed out from shock. No concussion.” Lynne’s ribs ached, and her temples pounded. She tried not to look at the dead man sprawled across the concrete floor. The congealing blood, turning darker with each minute, had stopped spreading.

April lifted her head and looked over her daughter’s barely moving chest. “Have you ever killed anybody before?” She blushed, the red contrasting garishly with her too pale face. “I mean, with a gun?”

Lynne closed her eyes. “No.” Her hands shook, so she flattened them on her yoga pants.

Outside, the wind increased in force, slamming debris against the building. Thunder bellowed, and she jumped. “You ever shoot anybody before?” Not that April had shot anybody now. The woman had missed by a foot.

“No.”

Heavy boot steps clomped down the outside hallway, and Lynne reached for the gun again, pointed it at the door. Someone shoved, and the table moved an inch. Her breath catching, she scrambled to her feet.

“Lynne? April?” Jax snapped.

Lynne shared a look with April, and both women rushed for the table to move it. The door burst open. Jax stood next to Red’s body, his gaze taking in the room. “Everybody all right?” he asked quietly, lowering his chin.